Getty Josh Allen warms up before a Buffalo Bills game.
The Buffalo Bills got a brief scare at practice on August 7 when quarterback Josh Allen was forced to leave the field with a trainer — but ultimately returned.
The team did not address the reason for Allen’s injury, but Nick Wojton of USA Today’s Bills Wire reported that he was able to return a short time after initially being taken off the field and did take part in drills after coming back.
“Upon coming back to the field, Allen did partake in team drills, signaling he’s OK. No update has yet to be provided in terms of what the QB had checked out,” Wojton wrote.
While there did not appear to be any risk of long-term injury for Allen, the incident did raise some fears about his health after a season in which he played through a lingering elbow injury.
Injury Concerns for Josh Allen
Allen’s health has been a concern through the first two weeks of training camp, especially after he was shaken by a pair of hard hits early on. As Wojton reported in USA Today’s Bills Wire, Allen took shots in the July 31 and August 1 practices including one where the quarterback split out as a wide receiver.
“Defensive back Taron Johnson got a hit on Allen and the quarterback got up a bit slowly… but was all right in the end. The two hugged it out, even,” Wojton reported.
Allen limped off the field the following day after taking another hard hit.
“All seems good now, but Bills QB Josh Allen got checked on by an athletic trainer after a rep in team drills,” The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia wrote on Twitter. “Stood under his own power after. Kept looking at his lower right leg. Helmet stayed in his hand the whole time. GM Brandon Beane came over to chat with him. Back in now.”
After Allen set a career record with 124 rushing attempts last season, Beane said the team wants to limit the number of hits he takes this year.
“The only thing I’d get on to him is he’s got too many bruises on him,” Beane said, via the Democrat & Chronicle. “And we’ve got to work on taking less hits. That’s the only reason I’m going to ever criticize Josh is just take less hits.”
Allen played through much of last season with an elbow injury that he initially suffered in a loss to the New York Jets.
Another Injury for Bills
Allen was not the only key member of the offense to be forced out of Monday’s practice. Left tackle Dion Dawkins also left the field with trainers, though unlike Allen was not able to return to practice.
SI.com’s Jonathan Alfano reported that Dawkins came back to the field wearing a brace on his hand but sat out the remainder of practice, watching from the field rather than participating.
“As for Dawkins, he reportedly left with a hand injury and did not return,” Alfano reported. Although he did not return to practice after the injury, he did come out to watch from the sidelines and was seen wearing a brace. His injury is also not believed to be serious, according to reports.”